For officials at the state university system, it’s not a matter of if people will be allowed to carry concealed weapons on campus but where.

View full sizeOpen areas like this one on Shippensburg University's campus would be places where concealed weapons could be carried under a proposed policy that the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is mulling over.
File photo/Mark Pynes | mpynes@pennlive.com

A proposed campus "weapons management policy" for the 14-school Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education would designate where concealed weapons could be permitted in “non-sensitive areas” such as sidewalks and areas outside buildings.

However, it would ban “deadly or offensive weapons” in such places as residence halls, student union buildings, cafeterias and other indoor and outdoor venues where large numbers of people gather, including sports stadiums.

Certain exceptions are allowed such as for law enforcement, ROTC exercises and a few other activities.

The proposed policy will be discussed during an hourlong webinar on Thursday from 10 to 11 a.m. The webcast will originate out of the system's Harrisburg headquarters on North Second Street and can be viewed on the system's website.

Individuals may participate in the webcast in person or may submit comments or questions in advance via email to: publicsafetytaskforce@passhe.edu.

"It's an important part of the process for interested people to have an opportunity to present their views on a complex and very sensitive matter," said Ron Henry, a system board member who chairs the committee that is reviewing the policy proposal.

The system's board could consider the policy at its meeting on Jan. 22-23.

A system-issued advisory about the webcast indicates the goal of this process "is to assure that the PASSHE universities continue to provide a safe and secure learning environment for students by adopting a unified weapons management policy that is consistent with both state and federal laws."

Faculty members have voiced concern about the proposed policy. They said it could create a greater chance of guns being carried into classrooms and that possibility has the potential to affect the tenor of class discussions. The university presidents last spring also voiced some concern but have not issued any formal statement regarding the proposed policy.

The policy comes at the recommendation of system lawyers who said last year blanket weapons bans in place on public university campuses could be vulnerable to a constitutional challenge, based on court rulings in Second Amendment rights’ cases elsewhere. So they drafted a model policy that allowed concealed weapons to be carried in certain places on campus.

Some system universities, including Shippensburg and Millersville, adopted variations of this policy that closely mirror the one now under consideration. System officials noted those campuses have not experienced any related changes in crime trends since implementing their new policies.

But this piecemeal approach eventually led to system board Chairman Guido Pichini calling for a halt to the remaining schools from adopting similar policies to allow time for a systemwide policy to be crafted by a task force appointed to look generally at campus safety issues.

The task force, chaired by Delaware County Sheriff and system board member Joe McGinn, developed a draft policy (below). The panel shared its recommendations with board members in the fall. The discussion about it led to a decision to hold a public forum to hear feedback about the policy not only from the campus community but state residents as a whole.

Chancellor Frank Brogan advised the board to consider adopting the policy this winter to allow time to educate the public about it before implementing it in the fall.

The other system universities that would fall under this policy include: Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Slippery Rock and West Chester.

Related Stories

Featured Story

Get 'Today's Front Page' in your inbox

This newsletter is sent every morning at 6 a.m. and includes the morning's top stories, a full list of obituaries, links to comics and puzzles and the most recent news, sports and entertainment headlines.

optionalCheck here if you do not want to receive additional email offers and information.See our privacy policy

Thank you for signing up for 'Today's Front Page'

To view and subscribe to any of our other newsletters, please click here.